ANTISEMITISM – AUSTRALIA

Antisemitism changing nation, Albanese told

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 11-Dec-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told the Jewish community that the federal government will provide financial support to rebuild the Adass Israel synagogue. Albanese visited the site on Tuesday, spending 45 minutes inspecting the remains of the building and a similar amount of time in a private meeting with senior members of the Adass Israel community. Benjamin Klein, a member of the synagogue’s board, says community leaders told Albanese that the surge in anti-Semitism has "changed the fabric of Australia", and that the government must take action to address it. Police are searching for three suspects in the firebombing, which has been designated a terrorist attack.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Travel warning for Jewish visitors to Australia after synagogue attack

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Original article by Chip Le Grand, Paul Sakkal, James Massola
The Age – Page: Online : 10-Dec-24

The Simon Wiesenthal Centre is set to advise Jewish people worldwide to reconsider non-essential travel to Australia in the wake of the arson attack on the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne. The US-based Jewish human rights organisation’s associate dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper says it issues travel advisories infrequently and only when fears for Jews’ safety reach crisis levels; it has not previously issued a travel warning against Australia. Meanwhile, a taskforce has been established to investigate the firebombing; sources have indicated that three suspects have been identified, and the attack is being treated as politically rather than religiously motivated.

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SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTRE

Police, ASIO taskforce to protect Jews

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Original article by Andrew Tillett, Gus McCubbing
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 10-Dec-24

The federal government has announced that the Australian Federal Police and ASIO will establish a special taskforce to investigate anti-Semitism in Australia. The decision to set up ‘Operation Avalite’ follows official confirmation that the firebombing of the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne has been designated a terrorist attack. Victoria Police’s Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has defended the decision to belatedly make this declaration, but federal Opposition leader Peter Dutton says it was "obvious from the start" that it was a terrorist attack. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been criticised for playing tennis at an exclusive Perth tennis club on Saturday rather than cut short his visit to Western Australia in response to the synagogue attack.

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AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL POLICE, AUSTRALIAN SECURITY INTELLIGENCE ORGANISATION, VICTORIA POLICE

PM finally acknowledges act of terror at synagogue

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Original article by Cameron Stewart, Sarah Ison, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 3 : 9-Dec-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended the federal government’s track record on anti-Semitism in the wake of an arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue on Friday. Albanese used a press conference on Sunday to contend that his government has consistently called out the rise in anti-Semitism. He also belatedly expressed his personal view that the attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue was an act of terrorism. However, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has declined to do so, stating that the firebombing was an "act of anti-Semitic evil". Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has linked the firebombing to the federal government’s "extreme anti-Israeli position".

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Age-old hatred threat to nation, warns new envoy

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 10-Jul-24

The federal government has appointed Jillian Segal as Australia’s first special envoy to combat anti-Semitism. Segal is a business leader, lawyer and philanthropist, and a former president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. She says anti-Semitism is a threat to Australian society as a whole, rather than just the Jewish community. Segal will represent Australia at the upcoming World Jewish Congress in Argentina. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ruled out holding a judicial inquiry into anti-Semitism on university campuses. He has also criticised the Greens’ deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi for failing to call for Hamas to be ‘dismantled’ in a recent interview.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

PM locked out by war protests

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Original article by Dennis Shanahan, Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 5-Jun-24

The security protection of federal MPs and Parliament House has been ramped up in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel on 7 October and the resultant pro-Palestine demonstrations across Australia. It has been revealed that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has not used his electorate office in Marrickville since early January due to concerns about the safety of his staff. Meanwhile, federal police and intelligence agencies are believed to have advised parliamentarians that anti-Israel demonstrations have been infiltrated by Islamic extremists.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

University of Melbourne pro-Palestine protesters endorse Israel should not exist social media post

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Original article by Suzan Delibasic
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 28-May-24

The University of Melbourne’s chancellor Jane Hansen has received a formal complaint about an Instagram post that was re-shared by pro-Palestine activists who occupied a campus building for more than a week. Palestinian-American blogger Mariam Barghouti was responsible for the original post, which stated that "Israel cannot, will not, and should not exist". This post was subsequently re-shared by the UniMelb for Palestine Instagram page. A member of the Jewish community wrote to Hansen expressing concern about the post and urging her to take immediate action, stating that the post effectively calls for the wholesale murder of nine million people in Israel.

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UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Jewish hate speech surge alarms PM

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 2 : 14-May-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese addressed a pre-budget meeting of Labor’s caucus on Monday. He praised the performance of Foreign Minister Penny Wong in responding to the Israel-Hamas war and reiterated his government’s support for a two-state solution. Albanese also acknowledged the growing issue of anti-Semitism in Australia; responding to a question from senator Deborah O’Neill, he said that hostility towards Jewish people is at the highest level that he has seen in his lifetime. The government is also continuing to attract scrutiny over its controversial decision to support a United Nations motion on Palestine.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Never have the survivors of the Holocaust felt the need to make a collective statement – until now

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Original article by Fiona Harari
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 9-Nov-23

There is growing concern that anti-Semitism has increased in Australia in response to the Israeli-Hamas war. Some 102 of Australia’s remaining Holocaust survivors have used the 85th anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom in Germany to publish a joint statement urging all Australians to denounce the anti-Semitism and hatred that is speading in Australia and around the world. Amongst other things, they have warned of the consequences of allowing history to repeat itself. Nina Bassat describes Australia as one of the last bastions of civility, but warns that its multicultural and tolerant reputation is now at risk. The 84-year-old adds that anti-Semitism is not only about Jewish people, as any group that is perceived to be different also becomes its victims.

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Pro-Palestine business boycott condemned

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 9-Nov-23

The Stand For Palestine group has been criticised for launching a social media campaign urging Australians to boycott local retailers that have tenuous links to Israel. The companies that have been targeted include Chemist Warehouse and Spotlight Group, which were both founded by the offspring of Jewish migrants. Australian entrepreneur Paul Bassat says these businesses are being boycotted simply because they are owned by Jews, while Arnold Bloch Leibler partner Mark Leibler has described the campaign as "pure unadulterated antisemitism".

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CHEMIST WAREHOUSE, SPOTLIGHT GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD